New Resolve
by strikelight angel
Summary: After losing to Sasuke in the valley of the end, Naruto,who almost die, gets a second chance when kyubi bring them back in time. Can Naruto change the way things have turn out? How far will he go in order to do so? Please R


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliates.

**A/N: **This is my second Naruto fic, the first one being a one shot on Kakashi. This story concentrates on how Naruto struggles with his failure to bring Sasuke back and thus, breaking the promise he had so confidently made to Sakura. Now that he's got a second chance by being WAY back in time, Naruto is determined to change whatever necessary to rebuild that promise. Even if it means changing how things have turned out.

So basically, this story takes Naruto back to the time when he had just passed the Academy test. This means that, yes, he has not yet pass Kakashi's survival training test. **Evil laugh!** Ok, now please read and enjoy.

**Chapter 1**

**A Second Chance**

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Riiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg!

The loud ringing of an alarm clock cut across the silent and tranquil morning atmosphere like a knife. Or you could say dawn, as it was barely 5 am in the morning. The sun had yet risen from the horizon, with the sky still a shade of navy blue. Brilliant, twinkling stars could still be seen scattering across the pitch black sky, lighting up the otherwise impenetrable darkness. It was a time where most people of the Konohagakure enjoyed their sound sleep in their rooms. The same, of course, goes for a certain blonde called Uzumaki Naruto, but not for long, though.

Right on cue with the waking call from his alarm clock, he suddenly woke up with a jolt from his slumber. However, the alarm clock was not the only reason. He just had a really bad dream, or you could call it a nightmare. He remembered that Sasuke was leaving Konohagakure, to go to a guy called Orochimaru to seek revenge. He remembered trying, pleading with him to make him stay, and then even went as far as to fight him to bring him back to Konoha. However, he had lost the fight, and he remembers at one point in the fight, Sasuke had his hand pierced right through his lung. _Is it really a dream? Then, why does it feel so strangely real?_ Naruto asked himself, wiping sweat off his forehead. Subconsciously, his other hand touched the spot where he "dreamed" Sasuke's hand had pierce right through it. And feels nothing. No injuries.

Sighing, he told himself to get a grip, or else he was going to go insane from a simple nightmare. Surely that was unthinkable for someone who had vowed to one day become a respectable Hokage? He would turn out to be a joke if someone found out that he had been terrified by a nightmare. Now that he thought of it, why was the alarm clock set so early anyway?

Just as he got up to go to the washroom, a sudden, unbidden image of himself making a promise flashed across his mind, effectively halting and rooting him to his spot.

"_Don't worry, Sakura. I'll bring Sasuke back, it's a promise of a lifetime"_

"Ok, I'm seriously going insane. Where did that come from anyway?" Naruto asked out loud to his silent home. Naruto, who obviously did not expect an answer, got the shock of a lifetime when he got one in return.

"**They came from your memory, you idiot. That is not a dream"**

"Who the hell are you?" asked Naruto, now looking around frantically, sounding terrified.

"**Look, brat. Just sit down and try to think and remember. You won't retained all your memory, but you'll definitely remember something. And stop looking around with that stupefied face, cause you won't find anyone"**

Naruto stopped looking around, realizing the voice came from the depths of his mind and instantly, he understood it was the Kyuubi. It was the only logical explanation. The only reason he was not freaked out by this was because he _felt _he had conversed with this way with the Kyuubi before.

Sitting back down on his messy bed, Naruto tried to calm down his swirling thoughts. His thoughts were totally messed up. Gradually, his heartbeat returned to normal, and he was now able to think rationally. _What's wrong with me? Or better, just what IS going on in the first place? Why do I feel something is seriously out of place here?_

"**Close your eyes and calm down, brat! I'll give you a bit of help"**

Naruto obliged and did as he was told. And after a while, everything came back, bits by bits, not unlike pieces of scattered puzzles building up piece by piece, trying to create the ultimate picture. Images of Sakura crying so hard and begging him to bring Sasuke back flashed across his mind eye. Then, it was followed by Sasuke telling him his story, about how his brother massacred his whole clan, causing him to be trapped within a wall of utter loneliness and pain, and about how he must kill the man who had made his life a living hell. With the sharingan-activated eyes that shone with red anger and pure hatred, he had told him, no matter what it took in the end, he must unleashed his black revenge against his brother, even if that meant breaking the bonds between them. Naruto flinched involuntarily at the memory, seeing his unofficial best friend engulfed by such an impenetrable darkness, to the point where he knew Sasuke was slowly losing his sense of self.

_Sasuke…even though you admit I'm your closest friend, you still….! Does the "bonds" between us really worth so little to you? Or is it because I did not try hard enough?_

Then, he remembered how both of them fought each other with all their powers, using none other than the legendary Rasengan and Chidori. And finally, how he had lost the ferocious battle and thus, breaking his promise to Sakura. Then he was on Kakashi's back, heading back to Konoha, barely alive.

"What happened then, Kyuubi? I remember I'm in the hospital, being treated by ….someone", Naruto wondered why he couldn't remember who. "I was…."

"**That's right, you're about to die", said the kyuubi angrily, in a tone laced with thick disgust. "You're not just physically weak, your will is just as weak. Your injury is not fatal, as I healed the fatal ones. However, the medic nin couldn't help you much as you had no will to live after being unable to bring Sasuke back. To think my container is this useless!" **

"**However, the point is, if you die, I'll die as well, and I certainly isn't going to die for such a pathetic excuse for a reason. So I used my powers to bring us back in time. Generally, the time travel will cause you to lose some of your memories as we have moved against the flow of time. Therefore, there's no need to struggle if you can't remember something", the kyuuibi explained, a slight impatience could be detected in his tone, as though he was talking to a three-year-old.**

Naruto was now in a state of disbelief. Now that he remembered what happened (though not all), he felt as though everything was indeed a bad dream. But he knew it was not. There was too much anguish and regret in his heart, the emotion he felt was too raw to be induced by a mere dream. And the searing pain that ripped through his heart when he thought of how Sasuke had truly tried to kill him.

"Damn it", he cursed out loud, partly directing the curse at Sasuke, partly at himself. _Why did I have to lose? Everything would be fine if I had beat him and bought him back!_

"**Stop whining like a kid, brat. You still don't see the point, do you?"**

"What do you mean? And how can you bring us back in time anyway?", Naruto demanded, his tone saturated with frustrations.

_**Sigh!**_** "How I did it is not of much a concern now. Besides, the explanation would be too much for a brain with such low capacity like yours to comprehend it anyway. The point is, we're back in time, don't you get it? Everything you're whining over still have NOT happen. Really, how can you be possibly be so slow on the uptake?"**

Naruto blinked, forgoing the insult on his intelligence. _Of course! _Now that he was back in time, this meant that he had a second chance to rectify his mistake, to change things for the better! Excitement coursed through him like poison as he thought of how he would never disappoint Sakura and his friends who had help him on his quest to retrieve Sasuke again.

_That's right, a second chance. I'll do it right this time!_

_Wait a second. When is it now? "_Umm, Kyuubi, what time did you bring us back to? Shouldn't you bring me back to when I was fighting him or something like that? Since now I knew Kakashi sensei was on his way, I could probably hold on until he arrived this time"

"**Well, I think I overdid it a bit. I guess I used too much chakra when I traveled against the time flow", the kyuubi said in a sheepish voice.**

"Oh….then when are we now?", asked Naruto tentatively, almost afraid of the answer himself. He hoped the Kyuubi wasn't about to tell him he had landed them in the wrong dimension or something like that.

But he was saved from that fate when the Kyuubi answered. Still, he was stunned from the Kyuubi's revelation.

"**Well, I think it was the day of your survival training with that copy ninja. And isn't this the reason your alarm clock was set this early?"**

"WHAT! But.. But that was wayyyyyyyy too back in time, isn't it? I mean, I'm not a genin yet!", cried Naruto, while wearing an expression of sheer horror.

"**Well, yeah, that can happen sometimes. But the point is…er, you still get to….well, stop that Orochimaru guy from having Sasuke", the Kyuubi said with the same sheepish tone he used just now.**

Naruto groaned aloud. _Now what? This is really troublesome, he thought, quoting Shikamaru._ Then another thought struck Naruto like a lead.

"Erm, Kyuubi?", asked Naruto slowly. "Do you remember how I passed Kakashi sensei's test?"

"**No, my memory is the same as yours. I only remember what you remember, which only includes those events that left you a lasting and deep impression, like your failure to retrieve Sasuke. Other than that, your current memory is the same as your current "self". But that doesn't matter. You passed, that we know for sure. Just be yourself and let things flow naturally, I'm sure the result will be the same", assured the Kyuubi.**

Naruto groaned again. Somehow, he wasn't so sure about that.

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That's all for the first chapter. Please review and tell me if you like the story, so I know if I should continue or not.

Thanks for your time.


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